A high-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system may be air-cooled. Such a fuel cell system may comprise a stack of fuel cells with cooling plates interspersed within the stack. The cooling plates each may comprise airflow channels through which a cooling air passes to cool the fuel cells. Heat from the fuel cell stack is conducted to cooling plates, and removed from the plates by air flowing through the airflow channels.
One type of high-temperature PEM fuel cell utilizes an electrolyte membrane formed from polybenzimidazole (PBI) and phosphoric acid. Such fuel cells are often operated at temperatures within a range of 120° C. to 180° C., depending upon a specific fuel cell system design. In such a fuel cell, operating the fuel cell at too high of temperatures may damage the fuel cell system, while operating the fuel cell at too low of temperatures may limit cell performance and cause irrecoverable damage.